Dashboard Light
by shipper-swabbie
Summary: Nate gazed over at the indigo glow of his dashboard clock. 2:36 AM He rubbed his weary eyes and glanced at his passenger in the review mirror. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" There was no reply. "I know you heard me. This is getting ridiculous, it needs to stop." Post U3. Nate/ElenaEST. Oneshot. Total marshmallow.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own these characters, I just like to borrow them when I start getting anxious about forth instalments of popular video game franchises so I can be happy again.

* * *

Nate gazed over at the indigo glow of his dashboard clock.

2:36 AM

He rubbed his weary eyes and glanced at his passenger in the review mirror.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?"

There was no reply.

"I know you heard me. This is getting ridiculous, it needs to stop."

Silence.

"I get it, OK? We've all been there. You're going through a hard time right now. And I'm here for you, I will always be here for you, but you need to give me a break once and a while. Elena is tired too, you know. She loves you as much as I do… Maybe more, but do you know how hard she works all day? She works her butt off. I know you see it. Really, forget about me for a second, think about her. She needs her sleep and I need you to-"

He was interrupted by a heavy sigh.

"Hey, don't give me that!" He wanted to sound angry, but he honestly didn't have the heart (or the energy) to conjure up that kind of effort at such an hour. "Sorry. I know getting angry won't help anything. I'm just a little on edge what with all the sleep deprivation and all. Listen, I know you've heard this all before but I just wish you could understand my perspective."

He glanced back once more and his passenger was totally still, save for the the gentle rise and fall of her chest. "Did you just… Are you _asleep_?"

Nate wanted to slam on the breaks, but despite his complete shock and disbelief he knew it was better to let her sleep. He continued on at that pace in the general direction of home.

"It worked. Oh my God I can't believe it worked…" His quiet celebration was interrupted by the buzz of his phone in the cup-holder. "Shit." He hissed scrambling for the phone, "Shitshitshit!" As the change ratted against plastic.

He finally had the phone in his hand, and made sure his passenger was still out of it before speaking, "You're supposed to be sleeping." He answered softly, knowing immediately who it was.

"I was."

Nate glared at the phone.

"OK, I slept for five minutes. But a five minute nap can really do wonders. Did it work?"

Nate couldn't help but smile, "It worked."

He could hear Elena's grin over the line, "Wonderful." There was a pause and she continued, "But this is your fault you know."

"My faul- _What_?"

A colicky baby. It's karma from killing all those bad guys and stuff."

"Pssh," Being flippant while whispering wasn't easy, but Nate made it work. "Yeah but I also saved the world a couple times, dear."

"Well that must be why you have such an excellent wife."

Not a truer word had been spoken. But he couldn't let it be the last word, too. He sputtered for a moment while he plotted a snarky reply, "W-well it's your fault she's a ginger." It was juvenile, but it would have to do.

"She is strawberry blonde thank you, and l take full responsibility for that. I'm proud of my Irish heritage." Pause. She softened her tone, and asked genuinely, "Will you come home now? I miss you. Both of you."

Nate smiled and drifted through a four-way stop; as far as he was concerned it was barely even against the law when the streets were totally deserted. "We're already on our way."

"See you soon?"

"Yeah, see you soon."

As Nate disconnected the call, a horn broke the steady silence with obnoxious volume for predawn, and a shitty '03 Civic whizzed by Nate's car. His daughter stirred and fussed at the disturbance, kicked her tiny feet out for a moment, and pulled one of those cranky baby faces that teeters on the edge of a fit.

Nate's breath caught in his throat, "Oh sweetheart, please, _please_ don't." He pleaded quietly.

She rubbed her face in the clumsy, fussy way three-month-olds do. Then she placed her index-finger on her nose the tip of her thumb in her mouth and sighed back to sleep.

Nate smiled into his review mirror, "You know something, kid?" He said softly, "There's not enough bad karma in the universe to match your good."

* * *

**A/N:** I hoped you enjoyed it! I tried to keep the identity of Nate passenger hidden for as long as possible, but I don't think I was fooling anyone... But if by chance I _did_ fool you, please let me know in a review! It's sort of a tie-in to my story "Different Shades of Blue", and by tie-in I mean you can safely assume that it's the same colicky baby in both stories.

If you liked this, feel free to follow my tumblog "lil-peanutt" for occasional doodles, and constant crying.


End file.
